Georges Marchais

Georges Marchais (7 June 1920-16 November 1997) was General Secretary of the French Communist Party from 1972 to 1994, succeeding Waldeck Rochet and preceding Robert Hue.

Biography
Georges Marchais was born in La Hoguette, France in 1920. During World War II, he was forced to work at a German Messerschmitt aircraft manufacturing plant. A member of the French Communist Party since 1947, he became a member of the party leadership in 1959. From 1961 to 1970, he was responsible for party organization, and became deputy general secretary in 1970. Under Marchais, the party steered towards Eurocommunism, and accepted the need for a peaceful transition to communism. He advocated a unity bloc on the left between the Communists and the Socialist Party of France, but became disillusioned in 1977, frustrated by the junior role which his party played in that coalition. In 1981, he ran for President, but was defeated in the first round with just over 15% of the popular vote, the party's lowest share of the vote since 1936. He was succeeded by Robert Hue in 1994, and he died in 1997.